On the Relationship between Self-Reported Physical Health and Social Networks : Among Korean Junior High School Students

Abstract

This paper tried to examine the relationship between social network patterns and physical health statuses among junior high school students in Korea with three distinctive characteristics with compared to many previous studies. First, based on two-year panel data of Korean Youth Panel Survey, it tried to control for unobserved heterogeneity that might have been exerting effects on students' health but could not have been included in the survey. Furthermore, instead of typical random model of anel data, it employed a modified random model that examined each coefficient to decide if we could treat 'between' effect same as 'within' effect. Thanks to this modified model, we could detect getting along with friends at school had only 'between' effect without statistically significant 'within' effect. Lastly, by including self-perceived psychological problem in the regression, we examined the possibility of direct network effects on physical health. The results revealed that in each of three social dimensions (school, family, and friends) direct effects of network existed on physical health of junior high school students. Especially, cohesive and frequent interacting with friends rather than simple popularity among friends was closely related with physical health.